Convergence
by ladygris
Summary: "Can you wipe out that much red? Drakov's daughter? São Paulo? The hospital fire?" Natalia Romanova's life is nothing more than names written in blood. When her path crosses that of Clint Barton, the convergence changes everything.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing related to the Avengers, its characters or known plotlines. I'm only playing in their playground. Any OCs, however, are mine and are not intended to resemble any other person, either living or fictional.

**Author's Note:** So, this story came about solely due to a PM I received after finishing up "Dear Mr. Hawkeye." The person pointed out some weaknesses in my writing, times when I'd gotten lazy and had depended on one thing or another. They said something that stuck with me, and so I wrote this. An "exercise in economy." How much story can I tell without telling everything and letting the reader fill in the blanks?

So, for this story, each chapter is 275 words or less, not counting author's notes. It is complete in seventeen drabbles, and it's intended to allow you-the reader-to fill in the blanks. A huge thanks to **theicemenace** for her beta work, and to **Alpha Flyer** for the title and another bit of beta work. **Ice** and I were banging our heads against the keyboard trying to title this thing, and **Alpha Flyer** just put her finger right on the theme. Thank you, ladies! This is a much better story for your help!

So, without further ado, the first chapter...Enjoy! ~lg

oOo

She sees him enter the room. Standing next to her mark, Natalia Romanova watches as he sheds a black overcoat to reveal a spotless tux. His eyes roam over every person there, seeming to assess and dismiss them in an instant.

Then, their eyes meet. He freezes for a fraction of a second, blue-gray gaze narrowed slightly. Natalia blinks and offers a coquettish smirk. He is young, too young to be what she thinks. But looks are deceiving, and she's learned the hard way to trust her instincts.

The moment ends as he straightens the cuffs of his shirt, showing off cuff links as expensive as her jewelry. And he pointedly turns in the opposite direction. Only one other time does he meet her eyes that evening, when he greets their host. He looks at her standing beside her mark and smiles. "Ma'am."

Natalia gives him a smile as he walks away and turns to the man she would kill after the party. "Who was that?"

"I don't know," Anastas Drakov replies. "Must be a friend of my daughter."

Natalia knows better. A man who looks innocent is dangerous. She can't afford to fail because of an innocent face, not when the fate of the Red Room rests on her shoulders.

~TBC


	2. Chapter 2

In all her years with the Red Room, she had never been interrupted. Liliya Drakov, a bit too attached to her father, found Natalia hovering over Anastas's body. Normally, Natalia would have just killed her. But Liliya was not the target, and unsanctioned hits were punished severely.

Now, she's dodging guards while trying to leave the compound, a task made difficult by four inch heels and her dress. Then, she sees him. He's still wearing his tux, walking toward the door as he glances around. She rushes forward, a smile on her face. "Darling! Where have you been?"

He turns, surprised. "Around."

She loops her arm through his. "I've been looking for you." She drags him toward the door and the butler eagerly waiting for them to leave.

He stays silent until they're outside. Then, he turns. "Hey, are you in some kind of trouble?"

In spite of his youth, Natalia thinks he looks. . .capable. And concerned. The change startles her and reminds her that he is dangerous. As soon as they're out of sight, she drops the act. "I'm fine. Thank you."

A hand lashes out and grasps her arm. "Hey, if you need anything. . . ."

She yanks her arm from his. "I said I'm fine."

"Okay. Fine." He shrugs. "Just offerin'."

As he spins on his heel, Natalia breathes a sigh of relief. She still doesn't know who he is, but she can't wait. When they see one another again, he won't recognize her. If he sees her again.

She ignores the prickle of someone watching her as she walks away.

~TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Agent Clint Barton watches the young woman nearly run from him and disappear into the night. His mission is a bust, a quest for information that doesn't exist here. As much as SHIELD wants to dismantle Anastas Drakov's empire, they want his network of buyers as well. Clint had gone to the party in the hopes of seducing young Liliya Drakov to gain access to the files. Instead, she ditched him, though he still has no idea why.

Then, he sees Drakov's arm candy rushing his way. She looks frightened, her blonde hair askew and clothes obviously rumpled. But, when she loops her arm through his, he plays along until she, too, ditches him. At least he managed to get a response out of her. Liliya was less-than-enchanted with his charming grin and the bad boy hints he dropped.

Wondering if he somehow lost his mojo, Clint heads back to his safe house. This mission was a test, and he knows it. Could he, as a barely-educated carnie, hold it together and become productive? Too bad SHIELD hasn't considered his other career, the one that left him with safe houses and bank accounts across the world. Or, perhaps, they have considered it and are deciding if they can trust him. Not that he cares. He'll do whatever it takes to survive.

He doesn't think anything more of the frightened blonde than what she seemed until morning, when he learns that Anastas Drakov was assassinated during his daughter's eighteenth birthday party.

~TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Rumors abound about the mysterious woman last seen with Anastas Drakov. Because of his contacts, Clint learns that Drakov's daughter has put a bounty on the killer's head. He does some investigating before going to Coulson.

"Absolutely not." Coulson is less than thrilled with Clint's idea.

"C'mon! You could get some money for SHIELD and get in good with Drakov's daughter."

"Minus your pay for facilitating the introduction?"

Clint shrugs sheepishly. "Of course."

"No." Coulson shifts papers on his desk. "Whoever the assassin is, he did us a favor."

"She," Clint mutters under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

Coulson eyes him suspiciously. "We'll continue to monitor Drakov's organization, but Director Fury's orders are to leave it alone. Now, about your next mission. . . ."

Clint ends up in Madrid and then Rome, chasing SHIELD'S enemies and putting them into the ground. Before being recruited, he went by the name Ronin. Now, he decides to go back to his roots. He becomes Hawkeye, an assassin known to work for SHIELD. And he thinks often about the blonde and his suspicions but doesn't say another word for a year.

~TBC


	5. Chapter 5

She doesn't see him for another year. In that time, she leaves the Red Room and fights to stay free. She loses herself in São Paulo, Brazil, as she takes contracts to support her lifestyle. At home, she's a quiet girl with red hair. On the job, she's the gum-snapping waitress, the exotic dancer, or the shy coed. But she _never_ accepts a job near her home.

A new name begins to circulate: Hawkeye, the man who sees everything, is rarely seen, and never misses a target. He's a rising star for a shadow organization called SHIELD and uses arrows rather than bullets.

She's just left her apartment when a hand closes around her bicep. Natalia whirls, killing the man in less than thirty seconds. But she recognizes him as a server at Drakov's party. She starts running.

Footsteps pound behind her as Drakov's men give chase. But Natalia's too good to go down without a fight. She leaves one. . .two. . .four men dead as she dodges her pursuers.

A car screeches to a halt next to the curb, and the door opens. "Get in!"

It's _him_, the man from the party. Natalia pauses for a moment. Then, she shakes her head and spins to meet the coming onslaught. Trusting a man she didn't know sent her to the Red Room in the first place.

In the wake of the destruction, the civilians killed, and one apartment building that went up in flames, Natalia wishes she'd figured it out sooner. _He_ was there when Drakov died. _He _was also in São Paulo._ He_ is Hawkeye.

~TBC


	6. Chapter 6

He's not even looking for her. Clint goes to São Paulo to follow a mercenary known to work for Drakov. SHIELD suspects a major weapons deal is going down, and Clint is supposed to stop it. Instead of asking how he'll do that alone, he simply grins. Solo missions are his favorites because he only has Coulson in his ear, telling him what to do. Cuts down on the frustration.

In Brazil, he finds Drakov's man way too easily. The guy has an entire crew working for him, and Clint realizes it's a manhunt. Coulson orders him to keep eyes on the target and stay out of it.

Three nights later, he follows his target to a plush apartment building. A young woman walks out, wearing understated clothing. Other than her red hair, there's nothing remarkable about her. Then, all hell breaks loose. His target tries to stop her, and she kills him almost without thought. Clint can't help admiring the careless grace in her movements.

Abandoning his post, he whips his car through the streets. If he could get her to safety, she might know something about Drakov's organization. Skidding to a stop in front of her, he throws the door open. "Get in!"

Clint will never forget the moment as long as he lives. She stares at him as if confused before pointedly turning her back and fighting. Later, as he watches an apartment burn and hears the astronomical death toll from one woman's escape, he knows.

She's Drakov's killer. If she keeps killing innocents to cover her escape, he'll be sent after her. It's just a matter of time.

~TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** First of all, let me apologize for posting so late. I got sidetracked today, and it wasn't until after church when my husband asked about this chapter. Secondly, I'd like to point out that there's a discrepancy between my word counter and this site's word counter. I've used two different counters that coincide with my word processor's, so each chapter (minus author's notes) are 275 words or under. Thirdly, I should have a new story up and going in the next few days. So, look for a new one to post somewhere around the first of April if all goes well.

All that said, hope you enjoy! ~lg

oOo

São Paulo changes her. Until then, Natalia kept the monster at bay. But all those dead people haunt her dreams and chase her from place to place. The only thing that helps is to play a part, to keep so busy that no one knows who she is.

She doesn't see _him_ again. After turning down his offer of help in São Paulo, he disappears from her life. Natalia tries not to care. After Brazil, she no longer worries about extra casualties. Drakov's daughter taught her to never leave witnesses.

Her notoriety grows. The Black Widow becomes as feared worldwide as she was in Russia. And she knows Hawkeye tracks her. But she always evades him, intensifying the rivalry.

They meet again when Natalia infiltrates a compound belonging to Liliya Drakov. Her nemesis has proven to be ruthless and efficient, and Natalia's employer wants the weapons Liliya has developed. Natalia pushes away the thought of what might happen if they end up in enemy hands. She doesn't care. But she's unprepared for what she finds.

He's in a cell, beaten but awake. Natalia figures he'll be a great help even if he works for SHIELD. She frees him, much to his confusion. He blinks slowly. "Why are you helping me?"

She rolls her eyes. "Does it matter?"

He shrugs. A moment later, he grabs her arm as she turns down a corridor. "Not that way."

Natalia yanks her arm away. "My employers want. . . ."

She never finishes the statement. His eyes widen, and he dives for her.

Natalia's world fades as the explosion rips the building apart.

~TBC


	8. Chapter 8

The woman has got to be the most confusing person alive. Clint decides this eight months after São Paulo. She's changed, become harder, and no longer cares about innocent lives. And she's earned her call sign.

Black Widow. It's appropriate. She cozies up to a mark and then kills him. Clint chooses not to think about her methods because, frankly, she's an attractive woman. But she's also lost, and he knows how that feels.

Encountering her again was not part of his plan. Yet, she finds him in Liliya Drakov's prison cell and frees him. He figures he'll help her. Enemy of my enemy and all that.

At first, he follows her down one hallway and then another. She's leading him deeper into the facility and seems to have a target. Then, he spots the trap. It's small, easily missed, and up on a high ledge. He grabs the Widow's arm. "Not that way."

She mumbles something about her employer, yanking her arm away, and he dives for her.

He wakes up sometime later in a hospital with stitches in his forehead and a bandage on his shoulder. She's lying in the bed next to him. Locals dug them out and brought them here, and Clint glares.

_Her employers._ She's an assassin. Why would she target a weapons cache? Unless it was revenge for what Liliya did in São Paulo.

Movement next to him pulls him from his thoughts, and he turns to watch as she wakes. Once she's aware, he asks the question on his mind. "Why?"

~TBC


	9. Chapter 9

Natalia wakes in the hospital. Her head aches, and the nurses speak of an explosion. Is that why she's here? It seems familiar.

Cracking her eyes, Natalia glances around and determines she's in a room alone. Wait. Not alone. _He_ watches from the bed next to her as he struggles to put on a shirt. He has a cut on his head and a bandage over one shoulder. She sees just how muscled he is and has the oddest inclination to stare.

Then, he speaks. "Why?"

Natalia frowns at the simple question. "Why what?"

"I offered to help you at Drakov's and in São Paulo, but you said no. I _knew_ the way out, but you wouldn't listen." He glares. "Why won't you trust me?"

"Why should I?" Natalia stares at the ceiling. "I don't know you."

He snorts. "That hasn't stopped me from trying to keep you alive."

She raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Why would I want to keep you alive?" He shrugs. "Maybe 'cause you're pretty. Maybe 'cause you're young. I don't know." He shakes his head. Then, he utters the words that almost shatter her. "It doesn't have to be like this."

Natalia blinks several times to stifle the tears. "You don't know me."

"Yeah, I do." He sighs. "You're just like me."

The anger sweeps through her, and she lets it. He's _nothing_ like her. He will never understand the red gushing over her hands and filling her ledger. Because Natalia Romanova is nothing more than a murderess. An assassin. And it's all she'll ever be.

~TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**Assantra:** I do have a much longer story coming, hopefully just after the first of April. I have a huge RL project that wraps up this week, and then I can take more time to focus on writing. Glad you're enjoying this story!

As always, hope everyone enjoys this chapter! ~lg

oOo

Clint sees the anger in her face and decides to try a different tact. "What's your name?"

She blinks at him.

"Hey, you can tell me your name—or a made-up one. I don't care." He drops his head back on the pillow. "Or I can call you Widow."

For a moment all is silent. Then. . . . "Natasha."

He accepts it with a nod. "Clint."

"Eastwood?" she asks with a roll of her eyes.

He snorts. "Not hardly. Just Clint."

They're silent for a long time before a doctor arrives. The man checks Natasha's head and declares that she has a concussion. She'll live. They're both lucky they weren't hurt worse in the explosion, and Clint thanks the man.

Natasha turns to him. "What did you tell them?"

He raises an eyebrow. "That we were there for an interview?"

"And they bought it?"

"They don't care _why_ we were there. A lot of people were hurt today, and we were just another pair of factory workers."

"This is _Moscow_," she said. "Everyone suspects everyone."

"That may be, but it's not true for every single place. Is it?"

She simply stares, and Clint gives up on making conversation. She seems intent on twiddling her thumbs anyway, and he doesn't feel like arguing. His head aches, and his shoulder might need some therapy after the doc's less-than-careful work with removing the shrapnel.

He leaves Natasha to her thoughts and closes his eyes, waiting for Coulson to find him.

~TBC


	11. Chapter 11

The hospital fire starts in a quiet moment, when Natalia's waiting for Hawkeye to either sleep or be taken by his own organization. _Clint. His name is Clint._ The crackle of the flames and smell of the smoke reach her well before anyone else, though she sees his eyes pop open. He sits up. "Time to go."

She rolls her eyes at the obvious statement. Instead of commenting, she pushes back the thin blanket and stands. The hospital was built of wood and cheap materials, a place for the underprivileged to bring their sick children. Not a place of safety for an assassin and her would-be rescuer.

The halls are filled with the sounds of frantic nurses, coughing, and the roar of flames. The fire spreads quickly, and Natalia struggles to keep from panicking. She sees a dark figure approach, knowing it is a memory from another fire. One the Red Room set to kill her parents. One they tried to remove from her mind.

She starts to fight the memory, blinking in confusion when Hawkeye morphs out of the shadows. He drags her forward, shoving her the few extra feet to safety when the roof collapses on his head. He raises his arms to shield himself, and Natalia reacts on instinct alone.

She digs him out.

He is injured, of course, but the new cuts and fresh burns are minor compared to the screams of agony from inside the building. Then, Natalia turns and sees a woman watching the fire.

Liliya Drakov just tried to murder her father's killer, and she made a mistake. She let the Black Widow escape.

~TBC


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's Note:** First of all, apologies for the late posting. RL kind of exploded over the weekend, so I'm playing catch-up now. Secondly, I had hoped to have a new chapter of "Not All Wars" up today, but that might not happen. If it does, it'll be late. :) Thirdly, due to some RL complications, my new story will be delayed a bit. But it's coming sometime in April. Just later than I'd originally hoped.

**assantra: **Thanks! I like back story.

As always, hope you all enjoy! ~lg

oOo

Clint coughs as the smoke gathers in his lungs. He's re-injured his shoulder, and he feels blood dripping down the other side of his face. But he's alive. All because of the Black Widow.

_Speaking of. . . ._ He turns to find her standing with her back to the fire, glaring at the forming crowd of observers. Before he can figure out who she's watching, she starts frantically searching the crowd.

Clint surges to his feet. "Hey."

Natasha spins to glare at him. "What?"

He realizes he stood up before fully assessing his injuries. "Just. . .don't run off. Okay?"

She doesn't move, but her expression shifts and becomes cold. "This wasn't an accident. This was a message. To me. She wanted me dead."

"Who?"

"Drakov's daughter."

Clint spies Coulson talking with the local authorities and makes a decision. "Come with me."

She blinks in surprise. "You want _me_ to go with you?"

"Why not?" He shrugs. "We'll protect you."

"I don't need protecting. Or saving."

_Maybe not, but the world needs it. From you._ But Clint doesn't say that. As Coulson approaches him, Natalia whirls and rushes around the corner of the burning hospital. He sees something in her eyes during those few seconds. She's out for revenge, for absolution. And she'll stop at nothing.

"Barton?" Coulson coughs, covering his mouth with a handkerchief as he leads Clint away from the fire and toward SHIELD's medics. "You okay?"

Clint doesn't have an answer. Next time, he might not be able to save her. She might not give him a choice.

~TBC


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note:** Just a trigger warning for this chapter. Be prepared.

Hope you enjoy! ~lg

oOo

_Come with me._ His words echo in her head. _We'll protect you._

She doesn't surrender. Leaving Hawkeye in Moscow, Natalia disappears into the shadows and begins her hunt. It is what she trained to do. She doesn't care who she kills or what price she pays to find Liliya Drakov. She left a witness, and that witness killed hundreds to get to her. Every life lost in Liliya's quest for vengeance is more blood in Natalia's ledger.

Natalia finally catches Liliya in London. On a night so dreary that it's cliché, she slips into the mansion and quietly hurries through the hallways. The guards are easily dispatched, and she lowers each body carefully to the floor. Nothing can hinder this job. She knows it's personal, but this is her life, her choice, her _failure_.

When she finds Liliya Drakov, Natalia is unprepared. The woman holds a toddler in her arms. "You have finally come," she says in Russian.

"Yes." Natalia locks eyes with her prey. "It ends tonight."

Liliya glances at the sleeping child. "In front of my daughter?"

Natalia snarls. "Your daughter should know her mother. The murderer that holds her close at night kills innocent children to exact revenge."

Liliya's face hardens. "_You_ are the monster. You destroyed a young girl's life without a single thought."

Years ago, Natalia followed orders when she killed Anastas Drakov. Now, she _gives_ the orders. And when she walks out of that mansion, she remembers only one thing: the trusting eyes of a frightened child just before a stray bullet claimed her life.

The blood of Drakov's daughter will forever stain her hands.

~TBC


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note:** Once again, a slight trigger warning for this chapter. It carries over somewhat from the previous one.

As always, hope you enjoy! And Happy Easter! ~lg

oOo

It takes a month for Clint to recover. In that time, he haunts Coulson's office and tracks Natasha's movements. First, she visits London. Clint knows why she's there. He arrives too late. By the time he gets to the Drakov house, everyone is dead. He supervises the investigation as SHIELD takes jurisdiction, and Clint's heart breaks when he sees the too-small body bag. Liliya Drakov's daughter had been caught by a stray bullet fired by Liliya herself.

Then, Natasha goes a little crazy. She leaves a path of death and destruction behind her that concerns SHIELD. Fury follows his investigation, and Clint wonders if he's becoming a little obsessed. After all, he's an assassin tracking another assassin who happens to be as good as—if not better than—he is and very, very attractive.

Finally, Fury gives the order. Clint barely blinks when he receives the file, but his heart sinks. He understands part of what Natasha's thinking and had hoped she could be redeemed.

Coulson finds him brooding in the mess hall. "What's on your mind?"

"She is."

"She's a menace to society."

"She's lost."

Coulson sits back in his chair. "Is that experience talking, Barton? Or something else?"

Clint glares at him. "Remember how I was? Remember the chance you took with _me_?"

"So you think she can be saved?"

"I don't know." Clint stands, closing the file. "But I want to try."

"If it fails, it'll come back on you."

"What if it succeeds? What if all she needs is a cause to fight for?"

He leaves the mess hall before Coulson has an answer.

~TBC


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: **Just a quick note here. The next several days are incredibly busy, so I decided to post the final three chapters of this story at once. I'm so glad everyone's enjoying it, and I look forward to your thoughts on each chapter.

**Guest: **Thank you!

As always, enjoy! ~lg

oOo

Drakov's daughter shatters her. Natalia stops caring about collateral damage, completing her jobs and walking away. Her body count grows as she takes more risks and adds more red to her ledger. Governments try to stop her, but she is the Black Widow. In time, she begins to think she cannot be stopped. And, deep down, she just wants to end it all.

She's in Johannesburg when everything changes. Coming out of a club, she anticipates a quiet flight to Paris. Instead, she finds a familiar face and an arrow aimed at her heart.

Natalia lifts one eyebrow. "You recovered well."

"Thanks to you." Clint's voice is rougher than she remembers.

They stay there, frozen, as Natalia weighs her options. She can fight, or she can let him kill her. Raising her hands, she surrenders.

"What happened?" He surprises her. "After the fire?"

"Don't you know?" She smirks. Of course he does.

He sighs and lowers his weapon. "You saved my life. We're even."

"Just like that? You let me walk away?"

"Or you can come in." He shrugs. "Hey, look, I'll admit it's not much of a life. But you'll have people watching your back. Either that, or SHIELD sends someone else."

She can't say why she agrees. Maybe it's his honesty or the red in her ledger. Maybe she wants out. No matter the reason, Natalia accepts his offer with a nod.

With an apologetic grin, Hawkeye produces a pair of handcuffs. And, because she decided to turn herself in, she doesn't fight him as he takes her to meet a man named Coulson.

~TBC


	16. Chapter 16

It takes a long time to "rehabilitate" the Black Widow. The Red Room left some nasty surprises in her mind, one of which was responsible for her rampage across the world. SHIELD's psychologists watch her closely, and Clint becomes her whipping boy. Not that he doesn't try to take her down. He's just the only SHIELD agent with the guts or stamina to spar with her.

She officially changes her name to Natasha and uses "Romanoff" instead of "Romanova" to toy with people who don't know anything about Russian names. Her sense of humor develops as she's freed from the Red Room's conditioning, and Clint learns she's one of the only people who can make him truly laugh. Her wit is sharp, and she likes to verbally spar with Coulson. Their matches quickly become as legendary as the Black Widow herself.

Even Fury likes her, much to his chagrin. Clint pulls crap assignments for a year, but it's worth it. Every time he goes back to base, Natasha's gained a new level of trust and openness. When they're assigned to one another as partners, he doesn't complain even though he prefers to work alone.

Out of everyone in SHIELD, Natasha understands him. She knows what it means to be an assassin of their caliber—to be a killer with a cause. She has one, too, and Clint finds himself helping as much as he can. Her ledger, just like his, is red. Together, they try to wipe it out.

~TBC


	17. Chapter 17

"Time to go." Steve Rogers stares at Natasha. "Can you fly one of those jets?"

The bathroom door opens and Hawkeye steps out. "I can."

Captain America turns back to Natasha, a very pointed expression on his face. And she nods. How can she not when Clint Barton trusted her so many years ago?

Rogers faces Clint. "You got a suit?" When Clint nods, he says, "Suit up."

As she prepares for the fight of her life, Natasha thinks back to those years when she just longed for it to end. _Your ledger is dripping. It's __**gushing**__ red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?_ Loki's words play through her mind as she keeps a close eye on her partner.

In the ten years since she came to SHIELD, she has learned that Clint Barton, the man behind Hawkeye, really does know her. He understands every aspect of her life, from the bloody ledger to the innocent deaths to the desire to just have it all end. And he's supported her through every moment while she seeks redeem herself. It is a debt she will owe until she dies.

Now, walking next to him and Captain America, Natasha vows to see him through this. He isn't fully recovered and won't be for a very long time. But he's strong. Strong enough to see through the Black Widow to the woman hiding underneath. Strong enough to make a different call when he was ordered to kill her. Strong enough to get through this.

And Natasha Romanoff plans to be there every step of the way.

_~The End~_


End file.
